Pop Culture Weekly's Kyle McMahon serves up the very best movies of 2020.
2020 has certainly been quite the year for all of us. By late March, most of the movie theaters across the country had closed down and movie studios scrambled to shuffle their release dates numerous times over and over again as we all waited to find out what would happen to the films we were most looking forward to in 2020.
Luckily for us, movie studios found a great balance between rescheduling certain movies while sending others to streaming (or a mixture thereof). This allowed us movie lovers to get some great (& not so great) movies in a pretty crappy year.
In any event, here's my list of the best movies of 2020.
Pop Culture Weekly's The Best Movies of 2020
The Invisible Man is not only one of the years best movies but it's one of the most imaginative horror movies in recent memory. Blumhouse Productions took the concept of Universal's beloved Invisible Man story and reimagined it for today. This is an excellent thriller that has invigorated the Universal Monsters franchise and made it relevant for the current times.
Soul is not just one of the best movies of 2020, but it's one of Disney Pixar's best movies ever. It is a movie that takes life's biggest questions and asks them through a masterful film that everyone will love. Check out my Pixar's Soul Review here.
Class Action Park is a documentary that is as entertaining as it is informative. It traces the history of the world's most dangerous theme park: Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey. During the 80's and 90's, Action Park was an extremely popular local theme park that was also known for not following any safety protocols - and their injury record proved that. Class Action Park can be streamed on HBO Max.
Run is one of those sleeper movies that could have easily slipped under the radar, but don't let it. Run, a Hulu Original, stars the absolutely amazing Sarah Paulson who has never given a bad performance in her career. Paulson plays a mother who is the sole caretaker of her wheelchair bound, homeschooled daughter Chloe. Chloe, anxiously awaiting a college acceptance letter, begins suspecting her mother may be keeping a dark secret from her.
Run is the definition of a great thriller, with excellent performances that give you an exhilarating edge of your seat ride.
Look let's be honest, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is the hilarious distraction we needed in 2020. Fourteen years after Borat, the sequel finds Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat returning to America, this time with his 15 year old daughter. The ridiculousness of the characters and events is part of it's charm but it's only disguised as ridiculousness. Underneath it's filthily funny exterior, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is a smart comedy that acts as both a satire and a commentary on our world today.
Antebellum is one of the smartest horror movies to come along in quite some time. I've got to say I can't even really explain the plot of this movie without spoiling anything. Just trust me when I say this is an awesome, thought provoking movie that is as scary as it is intelligent.
Miss Americana is not just one of Taylor Swift's most powerful artistic statements, but one of the most powerful artistic statements of any modern artist. Not only is it an inside look at an artist on top of the world, bit it quite shockingly reveals more about Taylor Swift than any of her confessionary albums had done. The documentary follows Swift through intimate footage as she records her sixth album Reputation, completes a stadium tour supporting it, records her seventh album Lover and the numerous momentous moments of her life that happen between them.
Whether you are a fan of Swift, interested in studies on the price of extreme fame or are looking for a great moment in time documentary, you will love Miss Americana.
If you're okay with Zombies in your drama movies, Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula should be on your list. A standalone sequel to the excellent Train to Busan, Peninsula takes place in the same world and during the same events as Train to Busan, but tells its own story not directly related the first movie. The film plays as more of an action oriented thriller with horror elements, rather then a social commentary disguised as a horror movie as the first one did.
If you saw Train to Busan, you need to immediately watch Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula. If you haven't yet seen the first, do yourself a favor and check it out now.
So there is my list of the best movies of 2020. I should add that there were numerous honorable mentions including Boys State (Apple TV+), The Social Dilemma (Netflix), Greyhound (Apple TV+) and Da 5 Bloods (Netflix).
What do you think? Did I miss something you think should be on the best movies of 2020? Let me know and let's talk about it!
Also, be sure to check out Pop Culture Weekly's Best Music Albums of 2020!
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Check out Kyle Mcmahon's website, PopCultureWeekly.com and subscribe to the Pop Culture Weekly podcast. You can follow him on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Rizzle and Instagram.